Hardware and Voice Support Layoffs of Hundreds
12,000 Laid Off Last Year... December Rumors of 30,000 Job Cuts
Amazon Also Adds Streaming and Studio Layoffs
Following Amazon, Google is also implementing layoffs, signaling a wave of job cuts among big tech companies at the start of the new year.
On the 10th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Bloomberg reported that Google plans to reduce its workforce by hundreds across various business areas, including hardware and voice support.
The specific scale and scope have not yet been finalized, but the layoffs will include employees from the voice-based Google Assistant and augmented reality hardware teams. The central engineering organization and internal software tools departments are also included. As part of the organizational restructuring, Fitbit executives such as James Park and Eric Friedman, co-founders of the wearable device company Fitbit acquired by Google in 2021, will be leaving Google.
Google stated, "We want to invest responsibly in the company's highest priorities and upcoming important opportunities," adding, "We are helping those affected by layoffs to find other roles internally."
In January last year, Google conducted its largest-ever layoff, cutting 12,000 employees. Since then, it has laid off hundreds in various fields, including its autonomous vehicle subsidiary Waymo and Google News. As of September last year, Google had 182,381 employees. Before the layoffs last year, there were 190,711 employees, with tens of thousands of contractors as well. Additionally, in December last year, IT media outlet The Information reported that Google planned to reorganize by laying off about 30,000 employees in its advertising sales division.
On this day, Google management sent an email to employees in the internal software tools department notifying them of the layoffs, explaining, "The company is simplifying management layers and flattening teams to speed up decision-making and enable individual teams to access more information."
This is not just Google's issue. On the same day, major foreign media reported that Amazon is conducting additional layoffs in its streaming and studio business divisions. Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios in the Americas notified employees of the layoffs, with plans to inform employees in other regions by the end of this weekend. Mike Hopkins, head of Amazon's Prime Video and MGM Studios divisions, said, "We have identified opportunities to focus on content and products that have the greatest impact while reducing investment in certain areas," adding, "The industry is evolving rapidly, and we must prioritize investments for long-term business success."
Earlier, Amazon laid off 27,000 employees in March last year, halted new hiring, and stopped experimental projects. Recently, it laid off some employees in the Alexa voice assistant division and announced plans for workforce restructuring at the global online streaming service Twitch on the 9th.
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